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…as the Mets head to Chicago for their only Wrigley Field trip this season, i did a quick Q & A with Al Yellon, who blogs about the Cubs for Bleed Cubbie Blue…
D.J. Short:
Derrek Lee seems to have found his power swing again. Is it safe to say his wrist is fully healed?
Al Yellon:
Absolutely. Lee says he doesn’t think that’s the reason that his power suddenly vanished in the first half of last year, but it seems pretty obvious that it takes more than a year for an injury like that to fully heal. We got a hint of this last year when he hit 16 HR in the second half.
Incidentally, D-Lee’s hot start is yet further proof that spring training stats mean absolutely nothing. He hit .194 in Arizona this year and those of us who saw him play worried because he hardly pulled anything.
D.J. Short:
How have the fans taken to Kosuke Fukudome? From what you have seen of him so far, do you think he is worthy of the hype?
Al Yellon:
Fukudome put himself into Cub lore on Opening Day when he hit a three-run game-tying HR in the bottom of the 9th. The Cubs lost, but that moment will be remembered for a very long time. He also has become a fan favorite for playing the game the right way — taking lots of pitches, hitting in situations. I don’t think I’ve seen him yet have a bad at-bat, even when he makes an out.
Is he worth it? Absolutely. Like Ichiro, he had a mediocre first spring training and some wondered whether this guy, who was supposed to be the best hitter in Japan, was worth it.
Even his teammates have said he may have been “sandbagging” it in spring training, not wanting to let on about a number of things he could really do. I love watching him play both at bat and in the field, where his range and plus arm make him the best Cub right fielder since Andre Dawson.
D.J. Short:
Is there any timetable on Alfonso Soriano’s return? When he does get back, are the Cubs gonna prevent him from doing his trademark hop?
Al Yellon:
Frankly, the way the Cubs are hitting right now, they seem better off without him. That’s a bit over-the-top, but Soriano is such a streak hitter that when he’s not hitting, the team IS better off without him. Last September, though, when he got hot — well, let’s just say that without his 14-HR month, the Cubs stay home in October 2007.
Soriano claims he does that hop to help him concentrate on catching fly balls. It’s not likely the hop itself caused the injury — that leg was going to go anyway, and it might have gone on the basepaths, as it did last year in that Sunday night game vs. the Mets.
Right now I’m in no hurry to get him back, as the Cubs are 5-1 without him.
D.J. Short:
Do you think Kerry Wood can carry the load as closer all season? How has he changed since his days as a starter?
Al Yellon:
“Changed” is the wrong word, really — I think this was a matter of career survival for Kerry, because he really can’t be a starter any more (or at least, as for John Smoltz, he may have to have a few years as a closer before returning to starting).
Can he carry the load? Absolutely. He has the right mentality and approach, and his velocity has returned (he’s consistently throwing 96 MPH).
D.J. Short:
What’s up with Tuesday’s starter Ted Lilly and his mysterious loss of velocity? Long-term concern or just needing to build arm strength?
Al Yellon:
That’s a really good question. Right now the Cubs are saying it’s “dead arm”, but my question is: how do you get “dead arm” in April? Lilly looked like this in spring training and we figured, “Well, he’s just working on stuff”. It’s a little late in the year to do that. Now, that said, Lilly threw better in his last start — he made two bad pitches and Joey Votto hit them for a two-run double and a three-run homer. If Lilly throws like that the rest of the year, he’ll be just fine.
…thanks again, Al…shame the Mets only play two games there this season…
Why didn’t you ask him what it was like to have the most popular blog covering MINOR LEAGUE baseball on the web?
I’ll be interested to see Fukudome. Before the Mets picked up Alou’s option I was for the Mets going after the Japanese outfielder. That was also before they got Church. I still think Fukudome would have been a good option for the Mets.
after KazMat, I honestly have had my full share of top Japaneese talent at SHEA. I’m honestly good for perhaps the next 5 years or so.
and damn you for making me bring up that trainwreck. I’m going to the game today and was in a pretty good mood until now.
A lot of Mets fans said the same thing. And there were valid concerns considering the harsh crowds at Shea. But Fukudome seems to be doing well with the Cubs. He has a good eye and a high OBP now which would be second only to D-Wright if he were on the Mets. It’s only a small sample size but it’s impressive considering he doesn’t know the pitchers here well.
With his OBP and ability to work the count he’d make a nice #2 hitter.
yeah….too bad Willie ran him out of town. ;)
LOL, Danny I hope you know I’m talking about Fukudome. Matsui’s OBP here in the U.S. hasn’t been very good.
Anyway, have fun at Wrigley. I’m jealous. That’s one park I’d love to go to in the daytime. Never been there.
Have you watched the Cubs a lot this year? What do you think of Fukudome?
I honestly make a concious choice not to watch the Cubs or Sox very often. It just doesn’t interest me. Mets take up all my time a sanity.
Other than what I see on the highlight shows, I have not seen Fokudome much. But with what I have seen, I am quite comfortable with Ryan Church instead.
I don’t know how other Mets fans feel…but I always liked and respected cubbies fans. I lovethe old ballpark, the fanbase’s loyalty through so many bad years (without the bitterness that Red Sox “:nation” felt until the curse was broken). Even back when the Cubs were rivals with teh Mets in the NL East,…I never managed to hate them or their fans. They are like the anti-Braves or Phils or Cards.
Agreed…i have always had a soft spot for the cubbies and their fans. I have never been to wrigley but I imagine that it is a safe place to wear a mets jersey.
Unfortunately, the mets do not play there very often due to realignment and expansion so I have to plan a trip there well in advance. Not in the cards this year though.
I also agree that they take their lumps in stride as opposed to the bitter bosox fans. I used to not mind boston either until the last 5 years. their fans rank right up there with yankee fans and philly fans as the most obnoxious people.
I think it is a function of the fact that the Cubs have sucked and could never win consistently. Without that, a rivalry is tough to develop. Sure you had ‘84, ‘89, ‘03….but the bookend year were for those examples were average at best.
I don’t hate the cub fans like i do Philly, STL, or Bronx, but i’ve been to Wrigley so many times, and honestly, most aren’t their to watch the game. Too many frat boys, drunks, and tourists. When you are at Wrigley and want to watch the game, be prepared to maneuver areound to get a line of sight, b/c you’l have people getting up in your way all 7 innings (they usually leave after the 7th inning stretch). A low IQ fan base that’s impartial half the time is hard to hate. B/C hate requires some level of respect.
My buddy moved from NY to chicago so when I went out to help him move he took me to a game and its a completely different experience than any park I’ve been to around the tri-state area. Most of the fans are either tourists or corporate people. The day games are full of business men who are in town for the week on business and got tickets from the company and not really a fan of either team. I didn’t get to see the mets when i was there but I saw them play the Astros and it was towards the end of last season and their were people wearing Houston jersey’s and no one bothered them, even in the middle of a pennant race. The park is extremely small and the tickets are expensive so you usually don’t get the young college kids just going to cause trouble.
As a native NY’er living in Denver I have to say that Cub fans are the most obnoxious I have dealt with at Coors. I go to at least one game in the yearly Mets set and try to check out at least 5 or 6 games throughout the season and when the Cubs come here their fanbase take over the LoDo/downtown area and are incredibly obnoxious. Mets and Yankee fans have I dealt with during games and in the city during series have much more class.
Add to it that they act like their team is the second coming, despite being sub-par and WSless for 100 years now…Pretty much everyone I know despises Cub fans here and most of my friends are transplants, like myself..
Interesting perspective…I have not had that kind of exposure to cubs fans. I have, on the other hand, been exposed to Phils, Yanks, and BoSox fans and i find it hard to believe that anyone could be worse than them.
However, I went to college at a big SEC school and some of the fans down there put everyone else to shame.
It could be due to the fact that Denver has a lot of Chicago transplants…who knows? But I experienced the Mets here 2 years in a row, the Yanks last year and the BoSox fans for the world series and the Cub fans were substantially worse…again, naybe its because they have absolutely no right to brag so it annoys me more…
“D-Lee’s hot start is yet further proof that spring training stats mean absolutely nothing. He hit .194 in Arizona this year and those of us who saw him play worried because he hardly pulled anything.”
If Lee’s in the tank this summer, he’ll be saying the same thing about April stats…
Before Boston ruined everything by winning the World Series, I had always hoped for a Cubs/Bosox World Series. At the time I figured that was about as close as we were ever going to get to seeing the end of the world.
Best post EvAR!!!!!
it was so close in 2003. Unfortunately Grady Little/Aaron Boone/Pedro & Alou/Bartman/Alex Gonzalez/Prior decided to mess it all up. What an awesome World Series that would have been. By the way, until I just looked it up, I had completely forgotten that it was Luis Castillo who hit the Bartman ball. I guess once upon a time he DID have enough power to hit the ball to the outfield on a fly. Also, is it any wonder we collapsed last year when we have so many players who were involved in those epic chokes in 2003?
The Mets need someone on their team with a nickname like “The Hawk.” I mean, that’s a sweet nickname.
Reyes
Castiilo
Wright
Beltran
Delgado
Church
Casanova
Chavez
Maine
that’s tonight’s lineup? hm. Guess you gotta give endy some ab’s sometime, but I’d really rather ride this pagan train while it’s still rolling.
Both Endy and Castillo have very good numbers against Zambrano. Maybe Willie feels that Pagan would be too amped up tonight, facing his former team. I think we’ll see Pagan in the starting lineup tomorrow.
interesting points, I didn’t know that. ok then, I’ll look at it that way: maybe this juices their sticks a bit.
Pagan has been coming back down to earth a bit offensively, and on Saturday he really did misplay a ball that could have led to a big inning if Heilman didn’t shut the door. In addition to the #s, my guess is until Alou gets back, Willie might start playing Pagan exclusively against lefties, with Endy getting some more PT.
Still prefer Church in the #2 spot, not because I hate Castillo but because I actually like Castillo hitting lower in the order clearing the pitcher’s spot.
while I of course want our guys to win every game, I seem to have very little competitiveness towards these two games…more curious to see the cubs than spoiling for their blood. I guess I’m hung over from the weekend.
I’ve seen two games at Wrigley: one was amazing, and one was really cold, windy and miserable. What I liked most about the park is the neighborhood around it. Their fans can be obnoxious, but they’ll also buy you a beer.
off topic, but…
can anyone tell me if the game is going to be on SNY tonight? I really don’t feel like going to the bar as I don’t get ESPN here. Mets calendar say “SNY/ESPN,” but wondering if I’m going to get blacked out on SNY.
according to the linked cubs’ site in the post, no blackout…also listed in today’s Post as airing on both.
thanks!
LGM! :-)
can everyone go to mets.com and look at the picture of carlos zambrano? He adds a whole other dimension to the phrase “pig-headed.” I thought I had a big dome.
I can’t stand Zambrano. I’m just waiting for spousal allegations and the concurrent crime scene photo of him drinking red bull in a wife beater at the scene of the crime.
Honestly, who fights their own catcher for pitching like a hump. He is a hothead…
*spousal abuse*